The PIM Special – Grade III
PIM Race #11 1 3/16m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $250.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward.
1 Essential Blazin D Tohill K S
A three-race winner as a five-year-old wouldn’t be too hard to write off in a race like this, but though this one had not even performed at stakes level until six months ago. there is a little red flag that suggests he is a late riser up that improvement curve. Drawn gate one in six of his last 9 races he certainly seems to have the draw monster on his side and recently ran a 1.10 flat in a six-furlong dirt workout which is a grade one type work. So, are we being told something that after the race will seem obvious? Could he carry on his improvement and win today? Well, I must admit there are far more positives than we see on the form lines.
2 Brave Freedom Nakamura Stables Centeno D E
In comparison to the first runner here we have a multiple graded stakes winner working 1.10 and 4 for the six furlongs, showing once again just how difficult it can be to rely on the track work form. But on paper this four-year-old drawn in the perfect gate looks a strong chance. My only question mark though is his last performance when he faded tamely off an average pace and that made me think. As a four-year-old he is not getting the allowance he did last year and very often that can lead to a flat year, I have seen many times that four-year-olds do not seem to mature quick enough in the first part of the year and can find it difficult to find their three-year-old form. So, with that warning against his decent form lines, I couldn’t be confident in the win.
3 The Martian Mo Mentum Farm Van Dyke D
Another four-year-old and another you have to wonder about the effects of an early season on last year’s three-year-olds. He went too fast from a wide gate last time but was still a big disappointment in the OP Handicap and that set the alarm bells ringing after a big three-year-old season saw him beaten just a half-length in the Preakness and the winner of the BC Derby. In comparison to the horse inside him he has maintained some improvement in his works, so I would say is a much better chance than that one and may well be a winning chance.
4 Day Of Black Night Rider Stables Ortiz I Jr
A strong worker, but though he has run some very nice races, he has never looked like a horse that can consistently perform in this grade. This trip may suit as he stormed home in the Challenger last time, so that may be a key, but his chances are less obvious than some. On works you would say top three on form that may be the best he can hope for.
5 On Schedule Mb Stables Lopez P
I have tried to look outside this stable’s runners in recent reviews, but the bottom line is they seem to win a lot more than they lose on a race-by-race basis so I will not make the same mistake again. At five years old he doesn’t face the issues that can face four-year-olds and has what is the best overall form for this race as well as some of the strongest works. Can it be as simple as that…well probably.
6 4 Free Angelos Stable Rodriguez A R
Claimed for $80.000 and thrown straight in the deep end here, I don’t think that is as forlorn a hope as it may seem. His recent breeze on the track and his excellent record in routes suggests to me he is ready to explode into this sort of grade at this sort of trip. There are of course questions to be answered, but I think he may be a value bet.
7 Ey Mon Arindel Saez L
I like the fact that the trainer has given this one four-year-olds this year as they clearly understand how four-year-olds can struggle in the early part of the year. Two good wins in overnight company set him up nicely here and as he only failed by a nose to win the Preakness last year, we know he has the X Factor. Everyone who is anyone will have noticed his sub 1.36 work last time and it is hard to look past him as the biggest danger to Mb Stables and the possible winner.
8 Good Guy Arindel Hernandez R M
The second stable runner and plenty to like about him on both the works front and the form front. Only just behind On Schedule in the Californian he was running on like this trip will suit him down to the ground, and I would certainly be putting him firmly in my top three.
9 Proxy D J C Racing Stables Silvera Ru
Stuck on the outside comes the DJC runner and the stable can produce some big efforts from their horses in these types of races, so I wouldn’t be writing him off. On the face of it he has a length or two to find but the outside gate can perform more like an inside gate sometimes and if that is the case in this race then he could well surprise.
SUMMARY
The Trifecta looks obvious here with Mb and Arindel dominating proceedings. I am not sure who will win out of the three of them so will box them up and collect the spoils.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
